Switching from Blackberry for International Data?
 

Hi,

I am currently a very happy user of a BB Bold 9700 and had all kinds of Smartphones (Symbian, Windows Mobile, iPhone) before.

However, by now I am feeling the pain I expected before: Since the Blackberry Service is tied to a Blackberry "Option", I can't just pop in and use any Pay as you go sim abroad. That's almost acceptable in the EU where my german carrier charges €0,99/MB. but clearly NOT acceptable outside the EU where I'm charged €10+ per MB.

I am now thinking of getting a Nokia E71/E72 instead in order to be free to roam.

What do you think? How do other International Travellers handle this?

Unfortunately my carrier doesn't offer unlimited International Data Packages (in fact no German carrier that I am aware of does that at an affordable price).

Are there ways to use your BES with a different SIM and option? I got the Pay as you go Blackberry Option from T-Mobile UK last month which worked with BIS, but kept showing me "Service Blocked" for BES, so it was useless as well. :(

Any workarounds or recommended Phones?

I guess the Nokia E's are the way forward since I always loved the form factor and have always been happy with Symbian in the past (from Nokia 76xx, Siemens SX1, to Nokia N95). I hated the IPhone (I need a "workhorse", not a toy!) - so that's not an option. I like the Android concept, but dislike touchscreens and need a physical QWERTZ Keyboard, so while a Moto Milestone / Droid, or a SonyEricsson XPeria seem tempting, I guess the Nokias are the only efficient option.

I do already dislike the fact that people are arguing whether E71 or E72 offer the better package, and that (so I read) I would have to manually enable HTML for every single Email. Also the low resolution might become an issue - but what else is out there?

You're really talking about an unlocked phone, with qwerty/z key pad for email. Pop a local SIM in, email, bit of browsing, maybe even tether.

To read email, most phones with POP3/IMAP will be OK. Any of the Nokia are good. I still use an N95 as my "office mobile", and connect over eithe 3G or WiFi to sync with the office server (we don't have BB/BES).

One of the guys in the office had an E71 for a long while, and was happy with it. He's tried the HTC Tattoo for a while now, and the on-screen keyboard is troublesome to use. He's holding out for a better Android phone.

I use an Nexus One for email/data/browsing, and it's OK to read emails, and keep on top of stuff. The default email client is not as good as the Nokia (especially the E61 client), but is OK. What I find best is the portable WiFi hot spot (from FroYo 2.2) - if I need to compose a long reply, I use my notebook connected to the N1. Short replies and forwards can be done on the N1.

I agree with you about the touchscreen, but you do get used to it, and quick at it. On the N1, I paid for a T9 keyboard app, and it's great. Others use Swype.

The E71/E72 will work for you, unlocked of course. If you can get a portable hot spot client/app for the Nokia you'll have the best of all worlds.

My €0.02.

Aidan

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9000/4.6.0.282 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/141)

Have you thought about carrying two devices (annoying, I know) and picking up a BB international SIM from an operator which does offer unlimited international roaming? I do this and it works relatively well for me. And as a side benefit, my BB battery lasts much longer due to not having voice calls on it.